WR 227

Research Project + Final Project

WR 227

Assignment Overview:

This sheet includes details for two assignments: the Research Project and the Final Project. You will use the research you collect for the Research Project to write the Final Project.

Due Dates:

Thursday, May 8: Research Project (draft)

Thursday, May 15: Research Project (final + draft)

Thursday, May 22: Final Project (rough draft)

Tuesday, May 27: Final Project (draft to be graded)

Thursday, June 5: Final Project (final draft)

Objectives:

· To make appropriate content and design decisions for a given audience and purpose

· To apply successful research strategies

· To evaluate and properly cite reliable academic sources

· To engage in a deliberate writing process, including planning, drafting, revising, and editing

· To write clear, concise sentences directly to the audience

· To demonstrate effective page design and use of graphics

Scenario:

In this hypothetical scenario, the PCC administration wants you to write a student success guide. The guide you write will be used in a new course at Sylvania: a free, required course for all new, full-time, degree-seeking students. The goals of the class are (1) to better prepare students for finishing their degrees (and, thus, boost the graduation or “completion” rate) and (2) show them what college-level, academic research looks like.

You can find more details on the guide you’re writing (i.e. the Final Project) and the research it requires (i.e. the Research Project) in the two sections below on assignment details. The document you turn in, your Final Project, will not be a complete student-success guide (which would be much too long); for the purposes of this assignment, you’ll create only two chapters from such a guide. The total length of your document (two chapters) should be approximately 1000 words.

Research Project Details

In this assignment, you will gather the information you’ll need to write your student success guide. Through research, you will determine the most important information for your audience and purpose.

Research Project Rough Draft (due Thursday, May 8). In this assignment, you’re writing to me, the instructor. Please include these pieces, clearly separated into sections (as I’ve done below):

Project Overview: in this section, tell me (a) which two topics you will focus on in your Final Project (these two topics will be the two chapters you write for the student success guide) and (b) why you think it’s important to cover each topic.

Sources Found: in this section, show me a list of all the valuable sources you’ve found on your two topics (and format your list of sources according to MLA guidelines). These should be sources you’ve read and that contain helpful information you could use in your student guide. See the final draft section below for details on the number of sources you should cite.

Research and Information to Find: in this section, tell me (a) what information you still need to find (please be specific!) and (b) your plan for how to find this information (be specific—tell me your specific research plan, including search terms you’ll use and where you’ll try those search terms)

Research Project Final Draft (due Thursday, May 15). This is a more thorough version of the rough draft. You need to have read and processed all your research to complete this assignment. Include these pieces, clearly separated into sections:

Project Overview: this final draft version should tell me (a) which two topics you will focus on in your Final Project (these two topics will be the two chapters you write for the student success guide) and (b) why you think it’s important to cover each topic.

Sources Found: this final draft version should include an annotated list of all the sources you plan to use to write your student success guide. Each source must include an annotation that explains what specific information you plan to use in your student guide.

The assignment you’re turning in should reflect all your research for the term project. To evaluate your list of sources, I will consider:

Number of sources. 4 is the minimum number to pass the assignment with a C. Four sources will not automatically earn you a C on the assignment. The criteria below also matter.

6 is the minimum number to earn a B. Six sources will not automatically earn you a B on the assignment. The criteria below also matter.

8 is the minimum number to earn an A. Eight sources will not automatically earn you an A on the assignment. The criteria below also matter.

Quality of sources. Does the bibliography reflect college-level research (to fit with the audience and purposes of the assignment)? College-level research should preference academic journals and sources from the library databases. If you use any sources from the free internet, you should critically evaluate them, they should be appropriate for our audience and purposes, and you should verify any research and claims from them.

Detail of annotation. Your annotation should tell me exactly what information you are using from the source. For example, if you’re using a source because it lists a statistic about the number of students who access advisors, then tell me that.

Reminders about MLA citation format:

· Arrange your list of sources alphabetically

· Use a hanging indent (so that all lines but the first in each citation are indented). See the sample citation below.

· Do not include URLs for web sources

· If you use a citation generator, double-check the format with a source like the Purdue OWL (to which there is a link on our course web page)

Sample Citation and Annotation (for a database article):

Ewing, Kevin A., and Erik Petersen. “Significant Environmental Challenges to the Development of LNG Terminals in the United States.” Texas Journal of Oil, Gas & Energy Law 2.1 (2007). Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Feb 2014. Begin your annotation here, immediately after the citation. Remember: your annotation should include an explanation of what exact information you will use from the source.

Final Project Details

Using your research, you will write two chapters of a student success guide. Your guide should:

· Provide them with helpful, concrete strategies for succeeding in college in general and succeeding at PCC Sylvania in particular

· Serve as both a study guide (in their first term) and a reference manual (for future terms)

· Illustrate successful academic research, including college-level sources (from library databases) and correct documentation of research

· Demonstrate clear, concise, and direct writing—including appropriate tone and use of active voice

This is a research project, and most of your research will support your strategies for success. The readers of your guide will want to know where your advice comes from—they want to see research to back up your ideas.

Length:

your final draft should be approximately 1000 words, not including bibliography, appendices, or captions.

Audience:

You are writing to new college students. They are all first-term, full-time, degree-seeking students at Sylvania Campus. If this isn’t your first term at PCC, you know that the college serves a wide range of students. Your research for this project should help you determine more about your audience. We may conduct some audience research in class.

Your audience will read your document in a required College Success class. They will receive the student success guide on the first day of class. You should assume that your audience has already registered for classes and found the classroom (i.e. they don’t need information on how to register or find classrooms). They need the most important information about what will help them succeed in their classes and finish their degree.

Final Project Rough Draft (due Thursday, May 22). For this draft, you should have one complete section/topic/chapter of your student success guide. This draft is required but won’t be graded; we will peer-review the draft in class. Your draft should follow the criteria outlined below in the Final Draft section. Length: approx. 500 words.

Final Project Graded Draft (due Tuesday, May 27). This draft is one complete section/topic/chapter of your student success guide (and should be approx. 500 words). I will collect and grade this assignment on the following criteria:

· Content. The document should include content that effectively addresses its audience and purpose.

· Research. The document should cite academic research.

· Sentences. The document should consistently apply our course principles of effective sentences:

speak directly to your readers

use pronouns

use action verbs when possible

use the simplest form of a verb

omit unnecessary words

· Design. The document should apply these elements of effective page design, as discussed in class:

a. White space / chunking

b. Headings (including logical hierarchy)

c. Font and typefaces

d. Lists

Final Project Final Draft (due Thursday, June 5). This draft is your final, polished document that includes two sections/topics/chapters of your student success guide and at least two graphics. I will evaluate this draft on the above criteria, plus the following:

a. the graphics demonstrate a variety of types (i.e. they’re not both pie charts)

b. the graphics illustrate important information for the audience and purpose

c. the graphics are referenced in the body of the manual

d. the graphics are titled, labeled, and cited correctly